My suspicion is that, by the time it became obvious that such things would be essential (maybe 1994 onwards) then the writing was already on the wall. RISC OS w

My suspicion is that, by the time it became obvious that such things would be essential (maybe 1994 onwards) then the writing was already on the wall. RISC OS was a relatively niche system even in the late 1980s, and it was clear to even to those of us who were enthusiasts as early as 1993 or so that it was going to be left behind. Acorn had weak sales as PCs became standard in schools (its previous strength), the OS was tightly tied to the existing hardware, and there was no money to do whatever radical overhauls that would be necessary to make the 'big leap' for a small market. I used a RISC OS machine as my primary computer all the way through to 2004, but it was seven or so years past its best by then, and probably twelve since RISC OS was even a potential world-beater.